Boring type continuous miner having cusp breaking means



April 23, 1963 c. E. MowHoRTER 3,036,761

BORING TYPE CONTINUOUS MINER HAVING CUSP BREAKING' MEANS Filed Oct. 17, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 w Ma/'IQ- April 23, 1963 c. E.- McwHoRTER BORING TYPE CONTINUOUS MINER HAVING CUSP BREAKING MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed OG'b. 17, 1960 Y `///l R .mw|l

April 23, 1963 c. E. McwHoR'rER 3,036,761

BORING TYPE CONTINUOUS MINER HAVING- CUSP BREAKING MEANS' Filed oct. 17, 19Go s sheets-sheet s lig/ 6 INVENTOR. 4@ 5 ceo/rfc f. iwf/wfg? 3,036,761 BORING TYPE CN'HNUUUS MENER HAVING CUSP BREJAKNG MEANS Cedric E. McWhorter, Hinsdale, lll., assigner to Geodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, lil., a corporation of Illinois Filed Oct. 17, 1960, Ser. No. 63,079 2 Claims. (Cl. 262-9) This invention relates to improvements in continuous mining machines of the boring type and more particularly relates to an improved means Vfor mining the upistanding cusp left between the boring heads of the machine.

ln continuous mining machines of the boring type having a plurality of boring arms for cutting contiguous bores in a mine face and having trimmer chains spaced rearwardly of the boring heads and guided for movement `along the mine roof and mine floor, for cutting the cusps upstanding from the mine floor and depending from the mine roof, the undercut cusp upstanding from the mine floor is frequently wedged up Iand broken down by the lower trimmer bar and its support, which retards advance `of the machine, where the material is hard, and increases the power requirements for performing the mining operation. This is particularly the case where the machine is mining salt, potash, soft rock and the like where the wedged piece of material may be too large to pass through the conveyor throat of the machine.

A principal object of the invention is to remedy the foregoing ditliculties by providing a simplified means cooperating with the lower trimmer chain, for cutting and breaking up the cusp upstanding from the mine oor and loading the mined material onto the conveyor of the machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cusp cutting device in the form of a rotary cutting arm cooperating with the lower trimmer chain of the machine, and spaced above and behind said lower trimmer chain to additionally cut and break up the cusp as it is undercut by the lower trimmer chain and convey the broken cusp onto the conveyor of the machine.

Still another object of the invention is to improve upon the means for cutting out the cusps left between the boring heads of continuous mining machines by mounting a rotary boring arm on the lower cutter bar to extend along the cutter bar behind the cutter chain, and by driving the rotary boring arm to break up the cusp undercut by the lower trimmer chain prior to wedging and breaking the cusp up by the support for the cutter bar of the machine.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings where- FIGURE l is a front end view of a continuous mining machine of the boring type constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged partial fragmentary plan view of the rotary cutter bar and lower trimmer bar and trimmer chain, looking substantially along line 2 2 of FIGURE 1;

FlGURE 3 is a vertical sectional View t-aken substantially lalong line 3 3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View taken substantially along line 4 4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line 5 5 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 6 is Va fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken substantially along line 6 6 of FIGURE 5.

In the embodiment ot the invention illustrated in the drawings, I have shown in FlGURE 1 a continuous mining machine of the boring type having a mobi-le base or main frame (not shown) having a cutter frame 11 supported thereon and extending in advance thereof, and mounted on the main frame of the machine in a convention-al manner, for Vertical adjustment with respect thereto and for angular adjustment about 4axes extending transversely of said main frame.

The cutter frame 1l has two rotary boring heads 12 rotatably mounted thereon for rotation about axes extending longitudinally of lthe machine, for cutting contiguous bores in a mine face, leaving upstanding and depending cusps, extending upwardly from the mine door and depending from the mine roof, between said boring heads.

The boring heads 12 each have -a plurality of radially extending arms 13 having radially spaced cutter supports 15 projecting forwardly therefrom and carrying the usual cutter bits 16. Core breaker rollers 17 are mounted on said boring arms for engagement with the core face between the kerfs cut by said cutter supports and cutter bits to break down the cores between the kerfs cut by said cutter supports and cutter bits.

The machine also has a conveyor 19 extending therealong from a position adjacent the ground rearwardly of a support 20 for a lower trimmer bar 21. The conveyor 19 is shown as being a center strand endless chain and flight convey-or and extends through a throat 22 in the cutter frame 11, in an upwardly inclined direction yand horizontally beyond the rear end of the machine, for discharging the mined material into a conveyor, shuttle cars or the like.

Vertically extending pusher plates 23 are mounted on and extend upwardly from the cutter bar 21 on opposite sides of the conveyor 19, to confine the mined coal to be progressed toward the conveyor by the rotating boring arms, to be picked up by the conveyor and to form a barrier in advance of the cutter frame 11 and behind the lower trimmer bar 21.

An upper trimmer bar 24 extends between the boring heads 12, adjacent the upper limits of the path of travel thereof, and forms a guide for a trimmer cutter chain 25, guiding said trimmer cutter chain to cut out the depending cusps of unmined material left between the boring heads 12. The upper trimmer bar is mounted on the frame 11 for vertical adjustment relative thereto on hydraulic jacks 26, in a conventional manner, and no part of the present invention, so not herein shown or described further. The lower trimmer bar 21, mounted on and extending forwardly of the transverse support 20, is supported to cut adjacent the mine floor between and beyond the paths of travel of the boring heads 12 and rearwardly of said boring heads, to support and guide the trimmer cutter chain 25, to cut the upstanding cusps extending upwardly from the mine floor between the boring heads 12 and to trim the floor along opposite sides of the annular cutting paths of the boring heads. The lower trimmer bar 21 is adjustably mounted on the frame 1'1 in depending relation with respect thereto on the usual laterally spaced iluid pressure jacks (not shown).

The trimmer cutter chain 25, guided for movement along the upper and lower trimmer bars 24 and 21, is trained about corner sprockets 27 at opposite ends of the upper trimmer bar 24. One run of the trimmer cutter chain is trained inwardly from the corner sprocket 27, shown in FIGURE 1 as being the right hand corner sprocket when looking toward the front of fthe machine, angularly inwardly and downwardly under a tension idler (not shown), serving to take up tension on the trimmer chain 25, upon vertical adjustment of the trimmer bars 21 and 24 with respect to each other, in a conventional manner. The

trimmer cutter chain is trained about corner sprockets 29 at opposite ends of the trimmer bar 21 and angularly upwardly and inwardly from the corner sprocket 29 shown as being the left hand corner sprocket to and about a drive sprocket 30. From thence, the trimmer chain 25 is trained about the left hand upper corner sprocket (not shown) to the cutter bar 24, guiding said trimmer chain for horizontal movement therealong.

Referring now in particular to the improved form of cutter mechanism cooperating with the lower trimmer bar 21 for cutting and breaking up the cusp extending upwardly from the mine oor and left by the boring heads 12, a rotary cutter bar 32 having cutter bits 33 is mounted on the cutter bar support 20 in rearwardly and vertically upwardly spaced relation with respect to the trimmer cutter chain 2S. As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the rotary cutter bar 32 consists essentially of a transverse shaft having slots 35 extending diametrically therethrough, forming sockets for the cutter bits 33, held in position by the usual set screws 36, the heads of which are recessed within recessed portions 37 of the rotary cutter bar, when tightened to hold the bits 33 in place.

The rotary cutter bar 32 is journalled at one end in a bearing support 39 carried by a bracket 40 mounted on an upper horizontal face 41 of the trimmer bar support 20 and projecting forwardly therefrom and supporting the bearing support 39 to be partially recessed beneath the flat face 41 of the cutter bar support 20. A key 43 is provided to locate the bracket 40 and bearing support 39. Machine screws 44 are provided to secure the bracket 40 to the upper face 41 of the cutter bar support 20.

The opposite end of the rotary cutter bar 32 from the bearing support 39 is shown as being journalled in a roller thrust bearing 45, carried within a bearing support 46, supported within a housing 47 for reduction gearing 49 for rotatably driving the lower trimmer bar 32. The housing 47 is mounted on a bracket 48, mounted on the upper horizontal face 41 of the trimmer bar support 20, and projects forwardly of said horizontal face. As shown in FIGURE 6, the rotary cutter bar 32 has a reduced diameter shaft portion 48 extending therefrom within the housing 47 and journalled within the roller thrust bearing 45. The end of the shaft portion V48 is splined and has a spur gear 50 splined thereto, forming the driven member of the reduction gearing 49.

The drive member of the reduction gearing 49 includes a drive pinion 51 formed integrally with a shaft 52, journalled in opposite side walls of the housing 47 on roller thrust bearings 53 and 54. The shaft 52 has an internally splined socket S formed therein and opening to the outer end thereof. 'Ihe splined socket 54 receives the splined end of a motor shaft 56 of a drive motor 57. The drive motor 57 is shown as being mounted on and extending outwardly from an annular motor support member 59 suitably secured to the outer wall of the housing 47 as by machine screws 58.

The motor S7 may be of various well known forms, but is herein shown as being a iluid pressure operated motor. A hydraulic motor 57 has been selected for its compactness to avoid interfering with the progress of the mined Vmaterial along the pusher plates 23. The motor v57 may be operated under the control of suitable valve means (not shown) and no part of the present invention so not herein shown or described further.

A stripper 60 is provided to strip the loose material from the cutter bits 33. Said stripper is shown in FIG- URES'Z and 3 as abutting ythe flat face 41 of the cutter bar support 20 and as being secured thereto by machinescrews 61 extending through elongated slots 62 in said stripper, accommodating the adjustment of a leading edge 63 of said stripper with respect to the paths of travel of the cutter bits 33. The stripper 60 is inclined upwardly from the advance edge of the llat surface 41 toward the cutter bar 32Y and cutter bits 33 and terminates in the advance or stripping edge 63, adjacent the paths of travel of the cutter bits 33, for stripping the loose material from said cutter bits and dellecting and guiding loose material to be discharged onto the conveyor 19.

It should here be understood that the rotatable cutter bar 32 and cutter bits 33 not only cut and break up the lower cusp to a size to be carried away by the 'conveyor 19 prior to advance of the machine a distance suicient to wedge the cusp from the ground, but also cooperate with the boring arms 13 and pusher plates 23 to convey the loose material progressed onto said rotary cutter bar by the boring heads, to the receiving end of the conveyor 19.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my invention may be embodied, it may readily be understood that various variations and modifications in the invention may be attained without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof, as defined by the claims appended hereto.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a continuous mining machine,

(a) a frame,

(b) a pair of laterally spaced boring arms rotatably mounted on said frame for cutting contiguous bores in a mine face,

(c) a conveyor extending along saidY frame from a position between said boring arms adjacent the ground,

(d) upper and lower trimmer bars mounted on said frame behind said boring arm and having (e) a cutter guided for movement along said trimmer bars for cutting the cusps left between said boring arms,

(f) and means associated with the lowermost of said trimmer bars and cooperating therewith to cut out and break up the cusp upstanding from the mine oor, prior to wedging of the cusp by advance of the lower trimmer bar into the kerf cut by said lower trimmer bar, comprising (g) a rotatable cutter bar mounted in vertically spaced relation with respect to the said lower trimmer bar in front of the receiving end of said conveyor and rearwardly of said cutter chain (h) a motor for rotatably driving said cutter bar,

(i) cutter bits projecting radially from said cutter bar and cutting in a plane intersecting the kerf cut by said cutter chain and rotatably driven by said motor to cut upwardly from the plane of cutting of said cutter chain and to break up the cusp and progress the mined material onto said conveyor.

2. In a continuous mining machine,

(a) a frame,

(b) a pair of laterally spaced boring arms rotatably mounted on said frame for cutting contiguous bores in a mine face,

(c) a conveyor extending along said frame from a posi-V tion adjacent the ground between said boring arms,

(d) upper and lower trimmer bars mounted on said frame behind said boring arms and having (e) a cutter chain traveling along said trimmer bars for cutting the cusps left between said boring arms,

(f) pusher plates extending upwardly from the lowermost of said trimmer bars and converging to said conveyor,

(g) and means cooperating with the lowermost of said trimmer bars and said pusher plates for cutting and breaking the cusp upstanding from the mine floor, between said boring arms and progressing Ithe mined material toward said conveyor comprising (h) a rotatable cutter bar mounted in vertically spaced relation with respect to the lowermost of said Vtrimmer bars in front of the receiving end of said conveyor and extending across the receiving end of said conveyor and spaced rearwardly of said cutter chain and having an independent motor for rotatably driving -said ro- Ala tatable cutter bar independently of travel of said cutter chain along said flower trimmer bar,

(j) cutter bits projecting radially therefrom and driven to cut upwardly from the plane of cutting of said cutter chain,

(k) and means stripping the cuttings from said rotatable cutter bar and cooperating with said pusher plates to eiect the discharge of the cuttings onto said conveyor by operation of said rotatable cutter bar comprising a stripper plate extending between said pusher plates and inclined upwardly and forwardly of the receiving end of said conveyor and having stripping cooperation with the discharge end of said rotatable cutter bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,745,652 Kraft May 15, 1956 2,770,448 Miner Nov. 13, 1956 2,815,196 Hlinsky Dec. 3, 1957 10 2,829,876 Bailey Apr.8, 1958 

1. IN A CONTINUOUS MINING MACHINE, (A) A FRAME, (B) A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED BORING ARMS ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME FOR CUTTING CONTIGUOUS BORES IN A MINE FACE, (C) A CONVEYOR EXTENDING ALONG SAID FRAME FROM A POSITION BETWEEN SAID BORING ARMS ADJACENT THE GROUND, (D) UPPER AND LOWER TRIMMER BARS MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME BEHIND SAID BORING ARM AND HAVING (E) A CUTTER GUIDED FOR MOVEMENT ALONG SAID TRIMMER BARS FOR CUTTING THE CUSPS LEFT BETWEEN SAID BORING ARMS, (F) AND MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOWERMOST OF SAID TRIMMER BARS AND COOPERATING THEREWITH TO CUT OUT AND BREAK UP THE CUSP UPSTANDING FROM THE MINE FLOOR, PRIOR TO WEDGING OF THE CUSP BY ADVANCE OF THE LOWER TRIMMER BAR INTO THE KERF CUT BY SAID LOWER TRIMMER BAR, COMPRISING (G) A ROTATABLE CUTTER BAR MOUNTED IN VERTICALLY SPACED RELATION WITH RESPECT TO THE SAID LOWER TRIMMER BAR IN FRONT OF THE RECEIVING END OF SAID CONVEYOR AND REARWARDLY OF SAID CUTTER CHAIN (H) A MOTOR FOR ROTATABLY DRIVING SAID CUTTER BAR, (I) CUTTER BITS PROJECTING RADIALLY FROM SAID CUTTER BAR AND CUTTING IN A PLANE INTERSECTING THE KERF CUT BY SAID CUTTER CHAIN AND ROTATABLY DRIVEN BY SAID MOTOR TO CUT UPWARDLY FROM THE PLANE OF CUTTING OF SAID CUTTER CHAIN AND TO BREAK UP THE CUSP AND PROGRESS THE MINED MATERIAL ONTO SAID CONVEYOR. 